Shadow Environment Secretary, Peter Ainsworth said: ‘Clearly this is very disturbing news especially because of the connection with the wild bird population.’

Abbotsbury Swannery
It was established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during 11th century.
The monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish banquets.
St Peter’s monastery was destroyed in 1539 during the dissolution.
The Swannery now hosts mass feeding sessions every day, involving the feeding of up to 600 swans.

Testing will now begin to see whether the H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread beyond the infected dead mute swans in Abbotsbury in Dorset.